JP2019211992A - Image formation processing support device and image formation processing support program - Google Patents

Abstract

To notify a user of an allocation failure reason if allocation of a processing request to any image formation device among a group of image formation devices is failed.SOLUTION: A job allocation unit 32 allocates a print job inputted to a support device 14 by a user to any image formation device 12a among a group of image formation devices 12 according to an instruction of the user. An allocation failure job, which has failed allocation, is stored in a storage unit 20 temporarily to fall into a re-allocation waiting state. The job allocation unit 32 stores the allocation failure job, the job condition of the allocation failure job and the allocation failure reason for the allocation failure job in association with each other. A display control unit 34 displays the allocation failure job in a display unit 24. When the user selects the allocation failure job, the display control unit 34 displays the allocation failure reason for the selected allocation failure job.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image formation processing support apparatus and an image formation processing support program.

  Conventionally, a production printer that is an image forming apparatus used for commercial printing is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2018-67260

  In commercial printing, an image forming apparatus group including a plurality of image forming apparatuses may be used. For example, by preparing a plurality of image forming apparatuses, a user can process a plurality of processing requests (print jobs) in parallel, and a plurality of image forming apparatuses having various different functions or characteristics. If an apparatus is prepared, an image forming apparatus suitable for the processing conditions (job conditions) of the print job can be selected and processed.

  There may be a case where assignment of a print job to an image forming apparatus selected by the user from the group of image forming apparatuses fails. The print job allocation failure is, for example, due to an error during processing of the print job (for example, imposition or RIP processing error), or the image forming apparatus selected in the processing time set for the print job is another print job. May occur when the execution is scheduled.

  If the user does not know the reason for failure in assigning a print job that has failed to be assigned, a problem may arise such that an appropriate image forming apparatus cannot be selected when the print job is reassigned.

  An object of the present invention is to notify a user of a reason for an allocation failure when an allocation of a processing request to any one of the image forming apparatuses in the image forming apparatus group fails.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display unit for displaying a processing request for which allocation to any one of the image forming apparatuses in the image forming apparatus group has failed, and display control for displaying on the display unit the reason for the allocation failure relating to the processing request. An image forming processing support apparatus.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the display control unit displays the processing request having a processing end time limit, and highlights the processing request whose processing end time limit is within a predetermined time from the present time. The image formation processing support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

  The invention according to claim 3 is the image forming processing support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit further displays a solution to the reason for the allocation failure.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the user selects an image forming apparatus to which the processing request is reassigned, the display control unit selects the processing condition of the processing request. 4. The image forming processing support according to claim 1, wherein a warning to the user is displayed prior to processing in the image forming apparatus when at least a part is not satisfied. 5. Device.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display unit for displaying a processing request for which allocation to any of the image forming apparatuses in the image forming apparatus group has failed, and the allocation failure reason for the processing request is displayed on the display unit. An image formation processing support program that functions as a display control unit.

  According to the first or fifth aspect of the present invention, when allocation of a processing request to any one of the image forming apparatuses in the image forming apparatus group fails, the reason for the allocation failure can be notified to the user.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to notify a user of a processing request that has approached the processing time limit.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, the user can be notified of a solution method for the allocation failure reason.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when a processing request is input to an image forming apparatus that does not satisfy at least a part of the processing conditions, a warning can be given to the user prior to processing.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image processing system according to the present embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of the function table contained in apparatus information. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of the schedule table contained in apparatus information. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a print job allocation failure reason. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of highlighting a print job whose processing deadline is approaching. It is a figure which shows the example of a warning display.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image processing system 10 according to the present embodiment. The image processing system 10 is a system that performs commercial printing, and is installed in a printing factory, for example. The image processing system 10 includes an image forming apparatus group 12 including a plurality of image forming apparatuses 12a and a support apparatus 14 as an image forming process support apparatus. Each image forming apparatus 12a and the support apparatus 14 are communicably connected via a communication line such as a LAN.

  The image forming apparatus 12a is an apparatus having a printing function, for example, a printer or a multifunction machine. The image forming apparatus 12a may be a so-called production printer. The image forming apparatus 12a may be capable of post-processing such as stapling, punching, and saddle stitching as well as the printing function. Each image forming apparatus 12a may have different functions. For example, a certain image forming apparatus 12a can perform color printing and post-processing, but a certain image forming apparatus 12a can perform color printing but cannot perform post-processing.

  The support device 14 is a device that supports printing processing in the image forming apparatus group 12, and is a personal computer in this embodiment. However, the support device 14 may be any device as long as it exhibits the functions described below.

  The support device 14 receives an input of a print job as a processing request from a user (user), and assigns the print job to any of the image forming devices 12a included in the image forming device group 12 (that is, the print job). Is determined). Then, the print job is transmitted to the determined image forming apparatus 12a to cause the image forming apparatus 12a to process the print job. Hereinafter, each part which the support apparatus 14 has is demonstrated.

  The storage unit 20 includes, for example, a hard disk, ROM, or RAM. The storage unit 20 stores an image formation processing support program for operating each unit of the support device 14. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, device information 22 is stored in the storage unit 20.

  The device information 22 is information related to the image forming device group 12 managed by the support device 14. Specifically, the apparatus information 22 includes information indicating functions that can be performed by each image forming apparatus 12a and information indicating a processing schedule of each image forming apparatus 12a.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a function table 22a that is information indicating functions that can be performed by each image forming apparatus 12a in the apparatus information 22. In the function table 22a, the device ID is an ID that uniquely identifies each image forming device 12a. The function item which is the other item indicates the function of the image forming apparatus 12a. As shown in FIG. 2, the function table 22a shows the functions of the image forming apparatuses 12a regarding a plurality of function items.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 12a indicated by the apparatus ID “D001” can perform color printing because the value of the function item “color” is “color”, and the function item “used ink”. Since the value is “CMYK”, printing using a CMYK plate is possible, and since the value of the function item “paper” is “continuous paper”, printing is possible on continuous paper, and the function item “staple” is used. Since the values of “punch” and “saddle stitching” are all “possible”, it is indicated that any of stapling, punching, and saddle stitching can be performed as post-processing.

  The function table 22a may be created in advance by an administrator of the image processing system 10 or the like and stored in the storage unit 20. However, the support apparatus 14 acquires information about executable functions from each image forming apparatus 12a. Thus, the function table 22a may be generated or changed.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a schedule table 22b which is information indicating the processing schedule of each image forming apparatus 12a in the apparatus information 22. In the schedule table 22b, the print job assigned to each image forming apparatus 12a and the actual result are the times before (the past) the current time, and each image forming apparatus is the previous (future) time before the current time. Each print job assigned to 12a is shown. As shown in FIG. 3, the time is divided into unit times (1 hour in the example of FIG. 3), and a schedule and a result column are provided for each unit time for each image forming apparatus 12 a, and a print job is shown in that column. A job ID is shown.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 3, for the image forming apparatus 12a indicated by the apparatus ID “D001” whose current time is after 10:00, the job ID “J001” is between 8:00 and 9:00. The print job indicated by is assigned and the print job is processed as scheduled, and the print job indicated by the job ID “J002” is assigned between 9:00 and 10:00, and the print job is processed as scheduled. The print job indicated by the job ID “J005” is assigned between 10:00 and 12:00 (the job is scheduled to be processed between 10:00 and 12:00), and 12:00 to 13 It is shown that no print job is assigned between 3:00 and a print job indicated by the job ID “J008” is assigned between 13:00 and 14:00.

  Since the schedule of each image forming apparatus 12a dynamically changes, the support apparatus 14 receives information on the schedule from each image forming apparatus 12a by intermittently inquiring the schedule to each image forming apparatus 12a. As a result, the contents of the schedule table 22b are dynamically changed. In the present embodiment, the support apparatus 14 periodically inquires of each image forming apparatus 12a about a schedule.

  In the present embodiment, the device information 22 includes the function table 22a and the schedule table 22b. However, the device information 22 may include one of the function table 22a and the schedule table 22b. .

  Returning to FIG. 1, the display unit 24 includes a liquid crystal panel, for example. Various screens are displayed on the display unit 24. In particular, a screen for supporting image processing in the image forming apparatus group 12 is displayed on the display unit 24.

  The input unit 26 includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel. The input unit 26 is used by the user to input various commands to the support device 14. In particular, the input unit 26 is used when a user inputs a print job to the support apparatus 14.

  The communication unit 28 is composed of, for example, a network adapter. The communication unit 28 exhibits a function of performing communication with each image forming apparatus 12a via a communication line such as a LAN. Specifically, the communication unit 28 transmits a print job to each image forming apparatus 12a. Alternatively, information regarding functions or schedules that can be executed is received from each image forming apparatus 12a.

  The control unit 30 is constituted by, for example, a CPU or a microcontroller. The control unit 30 controls the operation of each unit of the support device 14 in accordance with the image formation processing support program stored in the storage unit 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 30 also functions as a job assignment unit 32, a display control unit 34, a processing condition acquisition unit 36, and a condition determination unit 38. Hereinafter, details of these functions performed by the control unit 30 will be described.

  The job assignment unit 32 assigns a print job as a processing request input by the user to the support apparatus 14 to any one of the image forming apparatuses 12a in the image forming apparatus group 12 in accordance with a user instruction. When a schedule condition (described later) is attached to the print job, and the start time of the print job is earlier than the current time, the job assignment unit 32 makes a print job processing reservation for the image forming apparatus 12a. .

  A job condition as a processing condition is attached to the print job. The job condition may be composed of a plurality of condition items and values for each condition item. The job condition includes at least one of a print condition indicating a print processing method and a schedule condition indicating a print job processing time.

  As the printing condition, for example, the value “CMYK” or “K” for the condition item “used ink”, the value “continuous paper” or “A4” for the condition item “paper”, and the value “ "Saddle stitch" or "staple" is included.

  The schedule condition includes, for example, a value related to the condition item “processing time” (that is, a value from what time to what time). The processing time may be specified by a start time or an end time and an expected print time. The schedule condition may indicate a print job processing end time limit.

  The job assignment unit 32 may fail to assign a print job to the image forming apparatus 12a. Specifically, as described above, when a schedule condition is added to a print job, the image forming apparatus 12a designated by the user is expected to process another print job during the processing time designated by the schedule condition. In this case, the assignment of the print job fails. Further, when an error occurs in the process (for example, imposition processing or RIP processing) for the print job of the image forming apparatus 12a to which the print job is assigned, the assignment of the print job fails.

  A print job for which allocation has failed (hereinafter referred to as “allocation failed job”) is temporarily stored in the storage unit 20 and is in a waiting state for reassignment. The job allocation unit 32 stores the allocation failure job, the job condition of the allocation failure job, and the allocation failure reason of the allocation failure job in association with each other.

  The display control unit 34 displays the allocation failure job on the display unit 24. FIG. 4 shows a display example of an allocation failure job. In the example of FIG. 4, a list 40 of failed allocation jobs is displayed as “unallocated jobs”. The allocation failure job is displayed in a table format, and each record corresponds to each allocation failure job. In the table, the job ID and job condition of the allocation failure job are displayed.

  The display screen displays information 42 related to the plurality of image forming apparatuses 12 a managed by the support apparatus 14. The information 42 related to the image forming apparatus 12a includes an image 42a and schedule information 42b of the image forming apparatus 12a.

  The display control unit 34 displays the allocation failure reason of the allocation failure job. In this embodiment, one allocation failure job is selected from the list 40 of allocation failure jobs by the user placing the cursor on a certain allocation failure job (a certain record) or clicking an allocation failure job. When selected, the display control unit 34 reads the allocation failure reason associated with the selected allocation failure job from the storage unit 20 and displays the content on the display unit 24. In the example of FIG. 4, a character string 50 indicating an allocation failure reason is displayed below the selected allocation failure job. The reason for the allocation failure may be expressed by an image such as an icon instead of or in addition to the character string 50.

  The display control unit 34 may further display not only the reason for the allocation failure but also a method for solving the reason for the allocation failure. The solution method of the allocation failure reason can be specified based on the allocation failure reason. For example, when the allocation failure reason is a schedule condition, that is, in the processing time indicated by the schedule condition of the allocation failure job, another print job has already been allocated to the image forming apparatus 12a to which the allocation failure job has been allocated. In this case, the display control unit 34 can display information indicating the image forming apparatus 12a that is not scheduled in the processing time indicated by the schedule condition of the assignment failure job as a solution.

  Further, if there is a print job whose processing end time limit is indicated in the allocation failure job list 40 and the processing end time limit is within a predetermined time from the current time, the display control unit 34 may highlight the assignment failure job. FIG. 5 shows an example in which an assignment failure job is highlighted. In the example of FIG. 5, the processing end time limit of the allocation failure job indicated by the job ID “J0104” is within a predetermined time from the current time (that is, the processing end time limit will come soon), so that the allocation failure job is supported. The table to be displayed is colored. Various modes can be considered as the highlighting mode. For example, a mode in which some icon or the like is added, or even if the list 40 is sorted by a specific item, the assignment failure job is always displayed at the top.

  The processing condition acquisition unit 36 acquires job conditions of a print job (hereinafter referred to as “target job”) designated by the user as a reassignment target among the allocation failure jobs.

  The condition determination unit 38 refers to the apparatus information 22 and acquires functions and schedules that can be exhibited by the image forming apparatus 12a (hereinafter referred to as “target apparatus”) designated by the user as a reassignment destination of the target job. Then, it is determined whether the function and schedule of the target device satisfy the job condition of the target job.

  First, based on the function table 22a, the condition determination unit 38 compares the value of each condition item included in the printing condition among the job conditions of the target job and the value of each function item of the target device for each corresponding item. Then, it is determined whether or not each condition item is satisfied.

  For example, the printing condition of the target job is that the value of the condition item “color” is “color”, the value of the condition item “used ink” is “CMYK”, the value of the condition item “paper” is “continuous paper”, and the condition item “ Consider a case where the values of “staple”, “punch”, and “saddle stitch” are all “present”. When the target apparatus is the apparatus ID “D001”, the function table “22” (FIG. 2) is referred to, and the image forming apparatus 12a indicated by the apparatus ID “D001” has the function item “color” corresponding to the condition item “color”. The value of the function item “used ink” corresponding to the condition item “used ink” is “CMYK”, and the value of the function item “paper” corresponding to the condition item “paper” is set to “color”. Since the values of the function items “staple”, “punch”, and “saddle stitch” corresponding to the condition items “staple”, “punch”, and “saddle stitch” are “possible”, The target device is determined to satisfy the printing conditions of the target job. As described above, when all the condition items of the printing conditions of the target job are satisfied, it is determined that the target device satisfies the printing conditions of the target job.

  In addition, the condition determination unit 38 determines whether or not the target apparatus has a schedule during the processing time indicated by the schedule condition among the job conditions of the target job, based on the schedule table 22b. When the schedule of the target device is vacant, it is determined that the target device satisfies the schedule condition of the target job.

  In the present embodiment, the condition determination unit 38 determines that the target device satisfies the job condition of the target job when the target device satisfies both the print condition and schedule of the target job. Note that when the target device satisfies only one of the print condition and schedule condition of the target job, it may be determined that the target device satisfies the job condition of the target job.

  The display control unit 34 may display a warning to the user prior to processing of the target job when the target device does not satisfy the job conditions of the target job.

  For example, in FIG. 5, the print job indicated by the job ID “J0101” that is the target job performs the saddle stitching process as post-processing, whereas the user cannot perform the saddle stitching process with the device ID “D002”. Is selected as the target apparatus, the display control unit 34 displays a warning window 60 as shown in FIG. 6, for example. The warning is to confirm to the user whether the target device does not satisfy the job condition of the target job but can be processed. In the warning window 60, it is preferable that condition items that the target device does not satisfy among the job conditions of the target job are displayed. When the user selects the “Yes” button included in the warning window 60, the job assignment unit 32 assigns the target job to the selected image forming apparatus 12 a, and the user selects the “No” button included in the warning window 60. If selected, the job allocation unit 32 does not allocate the target job, and the display control unit 34 displays the screen shown in FIG. 5 again.

  The outline of the configuration of the image processing system 10 according to the present embodiment is as described above. According to the support device 14, not only the allocation failure job but also the allocation failure reason is displayed, so that the user can grasp the allocation failure reason of the allocation failure job. Accordingly, it is possible to select an appropriate image forming apparatus 12a when reassigning the assignment failure job.

  Further, by displaying not only the reason for the allocation failure but also the solution method, the user can grasp the solution method for the reason for the allocation failure. Thereby, the user can more appropriately select an appropriate image forming apparatus 12a.

  Further, the support apparatus 14 highlights an assignment failure job whose processing end time limit is within a predetermined time from the present time. Thereby, the user can easily grasp the allocation failure job whose processing end time limit is approaching, and the processing end time limit is prevented from being overrun.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment which concerns on this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible unless it deviates from the meaning of this invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image processing system, 12 Image forming apparatus group, 12a Image forming apparatus, 14 Support apparatus, 20 Memory | storage part, 22 Device information, 22a Function table, 22b Schedule table, 24 Display part, 26 Input part, 28 Communication part, 30 Control Part, 32 job assignment part, 34 display control part, 36 processing condition acquisition part, 38 condition judgment part.

Claims (5)

A display unit for displaying a processing request for which allocation to any one of the image forming apparatuses in the image forming apparatus group has failed, and a display control unit for displaying a reason for the allocation failure relating to the processing request on the display unit;
An image forming processing support apparatus comprising: The display control unit displays the processing request with a processing end time limit, and highlights the processing request whose processing end time limit is within a predetermined time from the current time.
The image forming processing support apparatus according to claim 1. The display control unit further displays a solution for the allocation failure reason;
The image forming processing support apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, The display control unit, when a user selects an image forming apparatus to which the processing request is reassigned, and the selected image forming apparatus does not satisfy at least a part of the processing conditions of the processing request. A warning for the user is displayed prior to processing in the image forming apparatus.
4. The image forming processing support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein Computer
A display unit for displaying a processing request for which allocation to any one of the image forming apparatuses in the image forming apparatus group has failed, and a display control unit for displaying a reason for the allocation failure relating to the processing request on the display unit;
An image formation processing support program characterized in that it functions as a program.